Columba Bush - Another Maureen McDonnell?

With former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell sentenced last week to a year in prison - a far too light of a sentence in my view - for her role in the criminal corruption rampant at the Governor's mansion, some are speculating that Jeb Bush's wife has similar extravagant spending habits and issues with truth and veracity.  Obviously, the Bush clan has far more money that the McDonnells did, but some are none the less vetting Columba Bush.  Here are highlights from the Washington Post:

In 1999, Columba Bush, the famously private wife of then-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was detained and fined by federal customs officials for misrepresenting the amount of clothing and jewelry she had bought while on a solo five-day shopping spree in Paris.

The incident left the Florida first lady deeply mortified and her husband politically chagrined. Jeb Bush said the first lady had misled customs officials because she did not want him to know that she had spent about $19,000 on the trip.

The ordeal did not stop her from spending freely, however. Less than a year later, she took out a loan to buy $42,311.70 worth of jewelry on a single day, according to records filed with the state of Florida by Mayors Jewelers.

That purchase was part of a pattern by Columba Bush of borrowing to buy tens of thousands of dollars of jewelry at a time from the South Florida store over a 14-year period. Documentation available online, which does not include the details of two transactions made less than six weeks apart in 1995, shows that she spent a total of more than $90,000 at the store.

That kind of spending, though well within his means, may present a challenge for Jeb Bush as he prepares for a presidential run with a message that the playing field between rich and poor is not fair or level.

In recent years, candidates in both parties have had to answer questions about high-dollar transactions by themselves and their family members, whether a $400 haircut for John Edwards, six-figure speaking fees for Hillary Rodham Clinton, or the number of homes and cars Mitt Romney owned.
While spouses are not on the ballot, they too find their lifestyles the focus of curiosity — and, frequently, partisan attack.

During Bush’s two terms as governor, from 1999 to 2007, the first lady maintained a low profile, living much of the time in their Miami-area home rather than in the state capital, Tallahassee.

While the 2000 purchase listed the governor’s mansion as her home address, documents suggest that, on at least one earlier occasion, Columba Bush wanted the paperwork sent to a postal box.

In 1997, when she bought a Roman coin necklace for $15,000 and a $16,600 Rolex watch studded with diamonds, she listed as her mailing address one that is currently used by a UPS Store in Miami. At the time, the shipping facility operated under the name Mail Boxes Etc.

After Columba Bush was forced to pay $4,100 in fines and duties for the purchases she had tried to slip past customs agents at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport, the governor said her shopping habits were no one else’s business.

“It is a lot of money. But look, that’s between her and me,” he said. The episode happened at a particularly sensitive moment, because Jeb Bush’s brother George, the governor of Texas, was making the first of his two successful bids for the White House.

Ann "Marie Antoinette" Romney: Throw Out Public Education

Proving herself again to be an out of touch bitch Ann "Marie Antoinette" Romney proposes that the solution to America's education system is to discard it and go with charter schools.  I'm surprised she didn't outright say school vouchers are the solution since a pet project of the Christianists is to send their children to church affiliated, science denying schools - the Christianist equivalent of a madrassa, if you will - and have the government pick up the cost.  As for everyone else's children, being the "godly Christians" that they are, they'd happily kick those children to the curb.   The irony, of course, as noted in Daily Kos is that neither Ann Romney, her husband, or any of her children has ever attended public school:

Among her talking points, this:

I've been a First Lady of the State. I have seen what happens to people's lives if they don't get a proper education. And we know the answers to that. The charter schools have provided the answers. The teachers' unions are preventing those things from happening, from bringing real change to our educational system. We need to throw out the system.

 Mrs. Romney, of course, is not an educator and has no experience as a teacher. Other than as a candidate's wife (if then), she's probably never even set a well-shod dainty foot inside a public school. She went to private school; so did her husband and children. And the "answers" the charter schools are providing? As mysterious as her tax returns. I guess we'll just have to take her word for it.

Equally disturbing is her mindset that serving as a Mormon missionary is equivalent with serving in the nation's armed forces.  Unlike one of my sons-in-law, the Romney sons are too good to risk their lives for their country - they are "too important" just like their draft dodging father:

As Mrs. Romney said on The View last week, Mormon missions are the equivalent of military service:

My five sons have also served their mission. None served in the military. None served in the military, but I do have one son that feels that he’s giving back to his country in a significant way where he is now a doctor, and he is taking care of veterans. So we find different ways of serving, and my five boys and my husband did serve missions, and did not serve in the military.   "I sent them away boys, and they came back men," she added.

So many real "gold star" Moms would have been so very grateful to have had their sons "come back men" -- or to have had them come back at all.

Can someone please tell this woman to get her head out of her self-centered, self-absorbed ass?   The woman is despicable.

 

Quote of the Day: Debate Victory Validates Romney Strategy of Nonstop Lying

I will concede that I am still seething over Mitt Romney's open and blatant lies during the presidential debate last week.  What makes it all worse is that polling suggests that some voters - i.e., those who I suspect are the least informed - seem to be falling for Romney's lies.  As I noted after the debates, Romney stated 27 lies in 38 minutes.  Yet he seems to be receiving a reward for his dishonesty.  Andy Borowitz sums it up well in The New Yorker:

NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report)—Taking a victory lap after their candidate’s win in the first Presidential debate Wednesday night, Romney campaign insiders today attributed his success to his strategic use of relentless lying.

“We worked for hours on this during the practice debates,” said the campaign manager Matt Rhoades. “We were, like, ‘Mitt, if you find yourself on the verge of saying something true, bite your tongue.’ ”

Mr. Rhoades said that the nominee was allowed to say his real name and acknowledge that he used to be a Governor, “but other than that, he was on a very short leash, truth-wise.”

While Mr. Romney’s talent for lying was in evidence during the Republican primary debates, it was nothing like the “mad skills” he displayed Wednesday night, the campaign manager said.

“All the hard work and practice lying really paid off,” Mr. Rhoades said. “Plus hanging out with Paul Ryan.”

Part of me cannot say that I was surprised by Romney's lies and dishonesty.  He will do and say anything to get elected and, frankly, if he thought that selling Ann Romney into prostitution would put him over the 50.1% mark, I'd be worried if I were Ms. Romney.  The man is amoral.

Secret Video: What Mitt Romney Really Thinks of Most Americans

I have repeatedly felt that Mitt Romney is an arrogant bastard who cares little or nothing for most Americans or the struggles that we deal with.  Now, we have proof from Mitt Romney's own lips as he describes half of America's population as "dependent upon government, believing that they are victims, believing the government has a responsibility to care for them, and believing that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it."  And how would Romney respond to these Americans?  "My job is not to worry about those people."  Talk about assholes.  His remarks veritably drip with contempt.   And he openly slams Hispanic voters.  Oh, and did I mention that Romney was talking to a group of 1% supporters?  Mother Jones broke the story - there's more to come tomorrow - and here is a video clip followed by some excerpts:

During a private fundraiser earlier this year, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told a small group of wealthy contributors what he truly thinks of all the voters who support President Barack Obama. He dismissed these Americans as freeloaders who pay no taxes, who don't assume responsibility for their lives, and who think government should take care of them. Fielding a question from a donor about how he could triumph in November, Romney replied:

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.

Romney went on: "[M]y job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

Mother Jones has obtained video of Romney at this intimate fundraiser—where he candidly discussed his campaign strategy and foreign policy ideas in stark terms he does not use in public—and has confirmed its authenticity.

Romney told the contributors that "women are open to supporting me," but that "we are having a much harder time with Hispanic voters, and if the Hispanic voting bloc becomes as committed to the Democrats as the African American voting block has in the past, why, we're in trouble as a party and, I think, as a nation."

To assure the donors that he and his campaign knew what they were doing, Romney boasted about the consultants he had retained, emphasizing that several had worked for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

I have a very good team of extraordinarily experienced, highly successful consultants, a couple of people in particular who have done races around the world. I didn't realize it. These guys in the US—the Karl Rove equivalents—they do races all over the world: in Armenia, in Africa, in Israel. I mean, they work for Bibi Netanyahu in his race. So they do these races and they see which ads work, and which processes work best, and we have ideas about what we do over the course of the campaign. I'd tell them to you, but I'd have to shoot you.

Here was Romney raw and unplugged—sort of unscripted. With this crowd of fellow millionaires, he apparently felt free to utter what he really believes and would never dare say out in the open. He displayed a high degree of disgust for nearly half of his fellow citizens, lumping all Obama voters into a mass of shiftless moochers who don't contribute much, if anything, to society, and he indicated that he viewed the election as a battle between strivers (such as himself and the donors before him) and parasitic free-riders who lack character, fortitude, and initiative. Yet Romney explained to his patrons that he could not speak such harsh words about Obama in public, lest he insult those independent voters who sided with Obama in 2008 and whom he desperately needs in this election. These were sentiments not to be shared with the voters; it was inside information, available only to the select few who had paid for the privilege of experiencing the real Romney.

What is equally disgusting is that many on the right - including the "godly Christian" crowd - don't want  Romney to apologize for his heinous and contemptuous comments.  So much for the Gospel message of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and sheltering the homeless.   Mitt and Ann Romney truly make Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette look like Mother Theresa in comparison.

Out of Touch Romney Calls $200,000 - $250,000 "Middle Income"

This blog has noted time and time again Mitt Romney's utter inability to grasp much less feel the slightest  empathy for the lives of most Americans  He and his wife truly are today's version of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette of the American political world.  And now Romney has underscored this reality yet again when he said during a :Good Morning America" interview that "middle income" as income of $200,000 to $250,000.  Perhaps in Mr. Romney's world of great wealth and privilege, but in low wage Hampton Roads that income bracket would put one among the wealthy. Back in the real world the U.S. Census Bureau reports that median income is $50,000 - that's right, a mere one-quarter of what Romney sees as "middle income."   The Washington Post looks a Romney's latest "sliver foot in his mouth" moment.  Here are excerpts:

Mitt Romney is promising to reduce taxes on middle-income Americans.  But how does he define “middle-income”? The Republican presidential nominee defined it Friday as income of $200,000 to $250,000 a year and less.

Romney’s comments came an interview broadcast Friday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“No one can say my plan is going to raise taxes on middle-income people, because principle number one is (to) keep the burden down on middle-income taxpayers,” Romney told host George Stephanopoulos.

“Is $100,000 middle income?” Stephanopoulos asked.  “No, middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less,” Romney responded.


The Census Bureau reported this week that the median household income — the midpoint for the nation — is just over $50,000.

Obama wants to extend Bush-era tax cuts for those making less than $250,000, while Romney wants to extend the tax cuts for everyone.

Romney has not explained how he would keep his plan from growing the nation’s deficit.

Ann "Marie Antoinette" Romney Booked to Speak at FRC Hate Fest

UPDATED: Ann Romney declines Value Voters hate fest appearance: Apparently, someone in the Romney-Ryan campaign woke up to the downside of Ann "Marie Antoinette" Romney appearing at the September 14th coven of haters being sponsored by three hate groups.  While appeasing the Christofascists and constituting a form of kneeling and kissing Tony Perkins' ring, her appearance would have done nothing but further reinforce the negative image of the GOP and Mitt Romney in particular disseminated through the GOP convention.  One has to wonder why she ever originally accepted the invitation.

Click image to enlarge

While Ann "Marie Antoinette" Romney recently refused to to answer questions about same-sex marriage and contraception which she dismissed as distractions "from what the real voting issue is going to be" in the November election, she is now booked to speak at the Family Research Council/Liberty Counsel/American Family Association sponsored "Values Voter Summit" on September 14th - an event that typically becomes a hate fest against gays, liberals, contraception/abortion and non-whites and immigrants.  Needless to say, it seems a bit bizarre that Marie Antoinette refused to address the issues that predominate the hate fest yet now will be a headliner at this always foul and divisive event.  Right Wing Watch looks at this development.  Here are highlights:

Ann Romney, the person tasked with humanizing her husband Mitt, is apparently scheduled to address a conference that dehumanizes others. I’m talking about the Values Voter Summit, which is hosted and sponsored by three Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate groups – the Family Research Council, American Family Association and Liberty Counsel.The National Journal Daybook and Values Voter Summit website both list Ann Romney on the schedule.

Notably absent from the list is Cardinal Timothy Dolan, whose spokesperson pointedly declined FRC’s invitation. Yet there Ann Romney is.

It’s an odd move by the Romney campaign. They’ve previously deployed her to show the softer side of Mitt. Now they’re sending her to stand on stage with a man who paid $83,000 to use David Duke’s mailing list and addressed a white supremacist group while in public office. The same person – Tony Perkins – also praised a law in Uganda to execute gays and warned senators they would have “the blood of innocent soldiers on their hands” if they repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Ryan and Ann Romney, if she appears, will be speaking on stage with Perkins in a lineup that includes Kirk Cameron and Michele Bachmann. They’ll be kicking off a conference that features a who’s who of Todd Akin backers (e.g. Mike Huckabee and Rep. Steve King) and anti-Muslim McCarthyites (e.g. Frank Gaffney and Jerry Boykin). And, of course, there will be gay-bashers – featured speakers like Perkins and Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver, who recently defended Malawi’s law criminalizing homosexuality. They would push for the same thing here in America if they thought they could pull it off. In fact, FRC’s Peter Sprigg and the American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer have already done so.

One can only assume that Mitt Romney is so desperate to firm up the Christofascist vote that he's literally willing to prostitute his wife to some of the vilest individuals in the GOP if not the country. The question is, does Marie Antoinette realize that she's being offered up like some kind of tawdry whore to these people?  People that would seem to be within her "you people" remark but for the color of their skin.

Ann "Marie Antoinette" Romney on "Meet the Press"

If you don't know what you are talking about - or in the case of Ann Romney are clueless about the struggles and reality of others - sometimes it is better to simply shut up and be quiet.  Ms. Romney apparently has not gotten that message as she tried on Meet the Press to humanize her plastic robotic husband and herself yet she ended up underscoring just how out of touch they are in fact.  David Badash has a piece in The New Civil Rights Movement that looks at Ms. Romney's ill advised performance.  The woman truly has no clue how most Americans live pay check to pay check and may lie awake at night worry about how they will care for their families and make sure that they have health care, a roof over their heads, and basic necessities.  Here are highlights:

Ann Romney, in a Meet The Press interview – rare for a candidate and their spouse to appear together — took that opportunity and severely damaged her husband’s campaign. Ann Romney suffers from Marie Antoinette syndrome, apparently, and the Romney campaign is ludicrously unaware that when the 63-year old dressage equestrian speaks to the press, she often reveals just how much of a moneyed, out-of-touch one percenter she, and Mitt, truly are.

Ann says Mitt “has been demonized in many ways as being heartless,” and uses the example of him visiting a dying leukemia patient.

Ann neglects to connect the dots that Mitt may have visited a dying leukemia patient, but President Obama has worked to ensure that dying leukemia patients, people with pre-existing conditions, and practically all Americans can get the healthcare they need by making it more accessible and affordable, eliminating lifetime caps and pre-existing condition denials.

Mrs. Romney also told David Gregory on Meet The Press:

Well, I think the thing that I want to communicate to people, and that it’s so important that people understand, is that Mitt and I do recognize that we have not had a financial struggle in our lives. But I want people to believe in their hearts that we know what it is like to struggle. And our struggles have not been financial, but they’ve been with health and with difficulties in different things in life.

While Ann Romney has had to struggle with breast cancer and MS — two devastating diseases that are no one should have to face in the 21st century — she had the benefit of access to the best healthcare, drugs and treatments — traditional and alternative — and doctors money can buy, something her husband would deny Americans who can’t afford it. Indeed, Ann Romney’s MS treatment regime is just plain inaccessible to the vast majority of those who might need it. While diseases place unimaginable stresses and struggles on anyone who is fighting them, and their family, Ann Romney never had to worry about how to pay for her treatments.

When Americans are literally cutting their prescriptions in half to make them last longer, Ann Romney has never used a pill cutter to save money, or worry about what to buy: medication or food, as far too many Americans do every day. The very Americans who her husband would like to deprive of access to those medications, and government programs that literally help keep them alive.

In short, Ann Romney and her husband Mitt no doubt have faced some of the same struggles as many Americans. Illness, a prime example. But their financial ability to shield themselves from the ravages of those diseases has apparently inoculated them from understanding how not being able to afford life saving treatment, drugs, and care impact the rest of America. If it hadn’t, they would be championing Obamacare, food stamps, and TANF.

Yes, I have been brutal on Ann Romney.  I make no apologies.  What her husband and Paul Ryan seek to do to countless Americans is even more brutal and certainly underscores the hypocrisy of both Romneys and Paul Ryan who pretend to embrace the Gospel message even as they make the Biblical Pharisees look like pretty in touch folks.

Group Claims to Have Stolen Copies of Romney Tax Returns

Only time will tell whether or not the claim is for real or merely a stunt to keep a lively discussion of Mitt Romney's hidden tax returns in the political mix, but a group is claiming that it has stolen copies of Romney's pre-2010 tax returns from an office of Price Waterhouse Coopers.  Obviously, if the claim is real and the returns are released, the world will know the details of whatever Romney has been secretly hiding.  Since I have a growing dislike for Romney, who seems to be an arrogant pathological liar driven only by his quest for more and more wealth, part of me would like the claim to be true and to see the returns released.  Here are highlights from coverage in the Washington Post:

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — The Secret Service said Wednesday it is investigating the reported theft of copies of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s federal tax records during a break-in at an accounting office in Franklin. Someone claiming responsibility demanded $1 million not to make them public.

An anonymous letter sent to Romney’s accounting firm and political offices in Tennessee and published online sought $1 million in hard-to-trace Internet currency to prevent the disclosure of his tax filings, which have emerged as a key focus during the 2012 presidential race. Romney released his 2010 tax returns and a 2011 estimate in January, but he has refused to disclose his returns from earlier years.

Romney’s accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, said there was no evidence that any Romney tax files were stolen.  “At this time there is no evidence that our systems have been compromised or that there was any unauthorized access to the data in question,” PricewaterhouseCoopers spokesman Chris Atkins said.

The data theft was claimed in letters left with political party offices in Franklin and disclosed in several Tennessee-area newspapers. Jean Barwick, the executive director of the Williamson County Republic Party, said employees in the GOP office found a small package on Friday with a hand-written address. The package contained a letter and a computer flash drive, she said.

An anonymous posting on a file-sharing website said the returns were stolen Aug. 25 from the accounting firm’s office. After “all available 1040 tax forms for Romney were copied,” the posting said, flash drives containing encrypted copies of his pre-2010 tax records were sent to the firm and to Republican and Democratic party offices.

Barwick said she turned over the materials to the Secret Service. She said she was not able to confirm that copies of any tax returns were stored on the flash drive.

As I said, it will be interesting to see if the claim turns out to be a hoax or not.  I'm sure that Mitt and Ann "Marie Antoinette" Romney are peeved.  As you recall, Ann/Marie said "you people" have been given all that we are going to give.

Mitt Romney - Still Inhuman

Candidly, I did not watch Ann "Marie Antoinette" Romney's speech last night.  I'd had a late dinner after a local political event and frankly did not want to end up hurling it up with her disingenuous and self-serving act.   But, from what I'm reading, many found her effort to humanize her robot husband unsuccessful.  It's not surprising given Mitt Romney's cluelessness about ordinary Americans' lives, his obsession with money (and avoid taxes) and his sense of entitlement that seeps through constantly.  Even her story about their lives during his student days underscored the alternate reality that Mitt and Marie Antoinette live in.  Here's part of the analysis from a Washington Post column:

Ann Romney gamely attempted to humanize her husband, Mitt, at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night, and you could tell. She provided the sorts of details about their early marriage that politicians and their spouses often have on hand to make themselves seem relatable — their dining-room table was an ironing board, on which they ate a lot of tuna fish and pasta — right after explaining that Mitt’s father ran an auto company. And she kept insisting — too much — that Mitt makes her laugh.

In fact, Ann Romney’s most powerful lines were not about how Mitt Romney is just like the rest of us — but how he has shown himself to be very different.  .   .   .   .  Mitt Romney’s most impressive and consistently manifest attribute is his inhuman work ethic. That also points to one of Mitt Romney’s greatest weaknesses — it remains utterly mysterious to what end, beyond his own advancement, he wants to apply all that talent and drive.

A piece in Mother Jones had a similar reaction.  Here's the relevant quote:

[D]id anyone else notice that even Ann Romney was almost entirely unable to humanize Mitt? She talked about the things he had done, but hardly at all about the kind of person he is. There was a brief reference to Mitt being "warm and loving and patient" — and helpful to friends in trouble — but after that it was all about Mitt being hardworking and successful. In other words, pretty much the corporate drone we all think he is. I doubt very much that this really helped the Republican cause with women much.

And then there's this quote from from The Atlantic:

Ann Romney talked about living in a basement apartment while Mitt Romney was in grad school, but as David Shuster notes, they were living off stock options. Christie just mentioned moving into a "studio apartment" with his wife when they were first married. I hope one day I can look back on my young person's middle class real estate experience as stark poverty. 

 

On Our Radar – The Romney Millions And The Damage They Have Done

Mitt and Ann Romney are almost boastful about the money they have given to the Mormon Church - the same Church that owns commercial properties and other investments that seem to be focused on things other than feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and giving shelter to to the homeless.  As a former Catholic, I don't mean to single out the Mormon Church for abuse.  The sad reality is that most of institutional religion - be it Catholic Mormon or something else - over the centuries has utterly forgotten the Gospel message and instead has focused almost exclusively on amassing wealth,  power and control over the lives of others.  Oh, and there's that little thing called Proposition 8 - legalized bigotry and the infusion of religious belief into the civil laws that Mitt Romney's Mormon Church spearheaded.  Thus, in my book, boasting about the money one has given to a bigoted institution which seeks to subvert the separation of church and state written into the United States Constitution isn't a positive.  In fact, it's a huge negative.  If Mitt ans Ann Romney were truly concerned about charitable works, they would have made directly to orphanages, medical facilities, soup kitchens, etc. Jean Ann Esselink has a piece in The New Civil Rights Movement looks at what the Romneys' "charitable giving" has actually helped finance.  Here are excerpts:

Mitt can call me “small-minded,” and tax-obsessed if he must, but I feel compelled to object to his wife’s characterization of their so-called generosity. Tithing to the Mormon Church is not a laudable deed for which Mitt and Ann Romney should be praised or admired. In fact, I think it should disqualify Governor Romney from holding national office.

This week Queen Ann shook her finger in our faces while she scolded us like naughty children for asking to see the royal taxes. If you saw her performance, there is a high probability it aroused in you a desire to chomp down on that wagging digit like you were channeling the baby in Lemony Snicket’s. Ann let us know, by royal decree, that they will not be releasing any more tax forms so their enemies can use the information in it against them. Fair enough. But in the very next sentence she insisted we not only take her word they paid their fair share of taxes, but that we also credit them with giving ten percent of their income to the Mormon Church. I am more than happy to ascribe that contribution to them, but “credit” is not a word I would attach to such a gift. I’d go with “blame.”

 For years, Mitt and Ann Romney have contributed ten percent of their mega-earnings to the Mormon Church. The Church then used their contributions to defend DOMA and offer gay reparative therapy, and fund Prop 8. They may want to call it “charity” but Mitt and Ann hurt people; specifically, they hurt gay people. It is important that they not be allowed to hide behind some altruistic notion of the phrase “tithed to my church” like the donation itself is a good thing, regardless of what pain their money caused.

[W]hen you give to a Church or a charity, you decide what you want your money to be used for. Mitt and Ann did not choose to save the houses of foreclosed homeowners or  provide state-of-the-art prosthetic limbs for wounded vets. Mitt and Ann gave willingly to an organization that has dedicated itself to keeping couples of the same sex from marrying, and denying children, like little Nolan and Ryanne and Jacob (image,right,) who will have their right to a two parent family decided by a judge this week, all the protections and benefits marriage bestows.

The Romneys claiming they support the Mormon Church but not its campaign of discrimination, would be like a donor saying he contributed to the KKK’s choir robe fund, but the Klan promised him none of his money would go to buy rope.

I have yet to hear anyone in the news media ask the Romneys if they are bothered by how the Mormons used their money. If someone should dare, I hope they will not accept a generic “I’m for DOMA, one man, one woman.” as a response. Ask what threat a loving couple getting married in California was to their lives in Massachusetts. Pin them down as to why they gave the Mormon Church such staggering sums, knowing they would use it to hurt people who never hurt them.

[P]lease ask Governor Romney how he can possibly be president of ALL Americans when he actively funds the effort to discriminate against millions of them.